Kay Rosen

“Love Letter 1/20/2009”

Love Letter, 1/20/2009, commemorates the inauguration of Barack Obama as president of the United States on January 20, 2009. After the eight-year Bush-Cheney nightmare, any change is welcome, but the things that Obama stands for will hopefully bring about real change and real hope, not just for the United States, but for the world. Love Letter continues a theme formerly used in the Klosterfelde edition O (1999), whose nine titles range from “Open” to “Halo,” in which O functions as a visual object as well as a letter. The edition Stilllife with Blue Table (Earthquake) (2007) slyly contains an O which behaves as an orange and a letter. As letters and symbols, the O’s and X’s in Love Letter are semi-abstract and universal, transcending language’s meaning and syntax. They may be considered ciphers or stand-ins for other things. For example, the O’s might represent Obama, with the X’s the alternative that is rejected. X’s and O’s might represent hugs and kisses, an affectionate way of signing off a letter. Just as a previous generation was designated X, the current state of mind is resoundingly O. The beauty of these letters is their ability to transform themselves, making many interpretations possible.